Twenty-four state attorneys general are urging Brown to reject a proposal to divest from companies with ties to Israel, they wrote in a letter addressed to University officials Monday.
The signatories were all Republican attorneys general and did not include Rhode Island’s attorney general. The letter was addressed to President Christina Paxson P’19 MD’20 and the Corporation, the University’s highest governing body, which is expected to vote on such a proposal in October.
University Spokesperson Brian Clark wrote in an email to The Herald that the University does not plan to comment as they “await formal receipt of the letter.”
Brown and other universities have received significant national attention, especially from Republican elected officials, since protests erupted on their campuses over the war in Gaza and divestment from Israel. This letter is an early indication of the national scrutiny that is likely to surround the Corporation’s vote on divestment in October.
Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin authored the letter, which described the divestment proposal put forth by the student group Brown Divest Coalition as “antisemitic and unlawful.” Adopting the proposal, the letter says, may trigger anti-boycott laws that would prohibit the states from doing business with Brown.
According to the Jewish Virtual Library, 38 U.S. states have adopted some law that prohibits their state from awarding contracts, investing or doing business with companies engaged in a boycott of Israel.
The letter also warned that states are already reviewing their investments and contracts to determine if Brown “has already violated state law” by agreeing to bring the proposal to a vote.
In April, the University agreed to bring a divestment resolution to a vote in October, provided it passes a review committee. In exchange for this commitment, student protestors agreed to disassemble an encampment they had erected on the Main Green.
The following month, five representatives from the Brown Divest Coalition presented their proposal to five Corporation members during their May meeting.
Throughout the demonstrations, students called on Brown to adopt their revised edition of a 2020 divestment recommendation that Paxson originally declined to bring to the Corporation.
A spokesperson for the Brown Divest Coalition did not respond to The Herald’s request for comment by press time.
Correction: A previous version of this article misstated the month in which Brown reached an agreement with protesters holding an encampment on the Main Green. The agreement was reached in April, not May. The Herald regrets the error.
Sam Levine is a University News editor from Brooklyn, New York covering on-campus activism. He is a senior concentrating in International and Public Affairs.
